


Elements of Combustion

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: An X-File Case, Medium Length
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-10-02
Updated: 2003-10-02
Packaged: 2019-04-27 07:01:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14420052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: Mulder and Scully investigate a case of spontaeous human combustion at a Janet Jackson concert.





	Elements of Combustion

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

 

"Elements of Combustion"

## "Elements of Combustion"

### by Sita

"Elements of Combustion OR Janet Jackson is Hottie Enough To Burn" 

By: Sita   
Summary: Mulder and Scully investigate cases of spontaneous human combustion at a Janet Jackson concert Rating: TV-14, I think. Gratuitous smut added for your enjoyment. Don't read it if you don't like smut or Janet Jackson, or you can read around it. It's gratuitous not explicit, in my opinion. Spoilers: Notice that there are no specific dates in this fic. I might mention a vague reference or two, but I'm not setting this in any season or anything. Category: Humor, Casefile, a little bit of everything. Including Fic Version of Janet Jackson. Author's notes: My entry to NeoX's fic challenge to place one's self, or overblown likeness in my case, in an XF casefile. And Fictional Sita is in there, not to be confused with RL Sita. We have almost nothing in common, except a couple of things. Try to guess which things those are. (smile) Disclaimer: For starters, ya'll know that I'm neither Chris Carter nor Janet Jackson. All lyrics and the song titles I used for chapter titles are copywritten, and if some of them aren't then let's just pretend that they are and that they are here for educational purposes. Yep, to educate you to the fact that Janet Jackson is the greatest! And don't ya'll forget it! Ok, so let's recap. I didn't write the lyrics to the songs. Good! And I didn't create the XF universe. Right? Good! And I'm not making any money off of this. Got it? Great! 

Sita's Original Characters:   
Sita, Janet's personal assistant and stand-in background dancer Nick, the black German Shepard  
Marta, the black cat  
Hotel receptionist  
Steve Gaiter, the Limo driver  
4 victims  
Members of the opening act band  
The unseen Mr. Cobb, actor and Sita's ex-husband (not to be confused with the RL Mr. Cobb) 

* * *

Chapter 1  
New Agenda

It ain't nothin but an us thang  
And it's time for us to step it up and respect That level of sisterhood  
That's been holding up our neighborhood And if it wasn't for our mothers  
There would be no brothers  
And if it wasn't for our sisters  
There would be no misters  
So it ain't nothin but an us thang  
She's strong and that's a fact  
Now it's time for us to take up the slack Step it up, step it up, time to go to work 

Mulder walked into the office with a big smile on his face. Scully looked up from her paperwork, her pen pausing in mid stroke. 

"Good morning, Mulder." 

"Good morning, Scully!", Mulder answered back. As he passed her sitting behind his desk, he tapped her on the top of her head with the folder he'd carried in with him. 

Scully stopped again, a look of annoyance crossing her features. She rolled her eyes and went back to writing. "What the hell are you so happy about this morning." 

"I love my job today!" 

"Just today?", she asked looking back at him as he rummaged in the cabinet drawers. 

"Not to say the rest isn't fulfilling, it's just that I've gotten some good news." 

"And that is?", Scully asked as she resumed her paperwork. 

"Actual documented accounts of spontaneous human combustion viewed in plain sight of large audiences." 

"That's what you would characterize as 'good' news, Mulder?" 

Mulder turned to look at her over his shoulder. "No, not people dying.", Mulder replied in a tone that made Scully feel like he wanted to add the word "duh!" at the end of the sentence. He looked back to what he was doing then pulled a couple of folders out of the drawer. He slapped the door closed with a flick of his wrist as he turned to place the folders on his desk. For some reason Scully could only think of as being just another way to irritate her, Mulder dropped the folders from about a foot above his desk. The wind created by their landing caused a couple of the papers Scully was using as a reference to her work to fly off the desk. A couple flew in her face. When everything settled, Scully had her eyes squeezed shut, her teeth had a good grip on her upper lip, and she was holding her breath as she counted to 10. She honestly didn't want to blow up at Mulder today, but he was making so damned hard for her to hold in her emotions. 

The last couple of days had not been great for her. Her mother had the flu and Scully had been staying at her house all week to take care of her, which meant she was driving to work from her mom's house rather than her own. That morning, one of her mom's neighbor's cats had been sitting on her mother's windowsill. Scully had opened it that morning for some fresh air and frightened the heavily shedding cat. As she tried to dodge the crazed feline, she tripped over the rug and fell into the glass on her mom's coffee table. Luckily, it didn't shatter, but her back was killing her. And she had still gotten a face full of cat hair. She went and showered as soon as she could, but she could still feel the beginnings of puffiness around her eyes and sinuses. After her shower, she was making soup and lemon tea for her mom when, while trying to get dressed for work, she left the soup on too long and it started to boil. She ran and snatched it off the burner and scalding chicken broth sloshed onto her hand. While she was running the blow dryer over her hair, she caught sight of a silver hair. 

The bit of consolation that her mom could give her before Maggie nodded back off was at least it was not gray and there was only one of them. 

On the drive over she got caught in some thick rush hour traffic and the 18-wheeler in front of her seemed to have not had a tune up in ages. The smell of roughly burned diesel had permeated her car through the air conditioning and had given her a headache. The lone pear she had for breakfast as she dashed out wasn't sitting right in her stomach by itself. She hadn't really had a chance to eat last night either and her whole digestive system was in protest. She had gone to Skinner's office that morning to see if Mulder had turned in the paperwork he said he was going to have completed and turn in yesterday and found out he had not done it. To cover for Mulder, she said that she would have it done by the end of the day, which in hindsight she now knew was a stupid statement to make seeing as how she had no idea how much there was to be done. And there was quite a bit. Skinner had sighed sympathetically at the tired look Scully couldn't quite keep off her face when he told her Mulder had called in and said he would be late today. The bit of consolation he could think to give her was to remind her that today was Friday and she had the next two weeks off for summer vacation. She did perk her eyebrows up at that and excused herself. 

So now here she was doing her partner's paperwork and he was being totally inconsiderate of her. Before she had time to wonder why she was refraining from knocking him silly, he continued with his line of thought. 

"It's exciting is all I meant. For years there has only been maybe a couple of truly documented cases of human combustion in history. This time not only do we have it from eye-witnesses, but it happened in the age of video technology. Yes, my favorite skeptic, it was caught on camera at a Janet Jackson concert." There was something weird about the way Mulder said the singer/actress' name, but Scully was in no mood to actually figure it out. She was still trying to concentrate on her writing as Mulder continued. "My guess is that we might be dealing with a case of a poltergeist or some a form of evil energy that's out to do harm to her career. 

Scully stopped writing. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. An evil spirit was trying to ruin Janet Jackson's career by killing fans at her concerts. Not only was that stupid in the sense that it just couldn't be possible but if it were found out that there was some weird stuff happening at her concerts, beyond the usual kind of stuff Scully had heard went on at them, that every spook hunter, pervert with an edge for the supernatural, and investigative professional would be itching to get in to see one of her performances. And right now Scully had a sneaky suspicion that her partner had a check mark in his book of life (one of Melissa's terms for how the soul keeps track of one's daily deeds, even though Dana couldn't figure out if she had been joking with her at the time) under each and every one of those criteria. Scully sighed, finally letting out the deep breath she forgot she had been holding from since right after just missing getting a paper cut across her forehead. 

One more thing to add to this day's page. "Remember it's Friday", she repeated as a mantra inside her head, but it was being drowned out by Mulder's incessant ranting about this thing or that thing. She wondered if maybe she should be listening to him. Then thought why the hell should she? She had tried to call him last night to see if she needed to do anything to get a jumpstart on tomorrow. She wanted to be out of the office and on her way back to her mom's by at least 1pm. Of course, she didn't get an answer because that would be expecting too much from Mulder. Too much for him to take his cell phone with him on his run in the park, to the convenience store, the porno aisle of the nearest movie rental or wherever the hell he was last night. She didn't really care what he was doing, it was the fact of what she now knew he wasn't doing. Finally, she was on the last line and it was only 11am. 

"Scully are you listening to me?" Ok, that was it. 

"Look, Mulder.", she spat. "You are the one who is hard of hearing and your eye sight needs to be checked right along with it. I have been sitting here for the last 3 hours and 19 minutes doing your work for you." She didn't even need to look at her watch. "Work that you knew you had to have done yesterday morning. So if I choose to ignore whatever verbal expression of the mental hard on you seem to have about this case, I think I have a right to do so. And yes I heard you, Mulder. I'm not going with you. You can go run after Janet by yourself. My mom is sick and I'm taking care of her this weekend, so I'm not leaving." She wasn't yelling, but the venom was evident in her low, controlled voice. 

Mulder stared down at her from where he was leaning on the desk. He actually took the time to look at her now that she had had her outburst. Mulder was a smart man, but for some reason the neural synapses weren't firing quite fast enough to stop the next comment that came from his mouth. "You look like crap Scully." Immediately he knew his mistake. "Why, oh, why didn't I ask how her mother was doing?", he asked himself after she gave him a look that came pretty damn close to singeing his eyebrows. 

Scully couldn't help the way she felt right now and she was sure that Mulder knew he'd mucked up, his eyes fell to her hands as she clenched them into fists. They both could hear the sound of her tendons tighten and the popping of her finger joints. Mulder could have sworn he heard the sound of her fingernails pressing the skin of her palm. 

Just then, Scully felt a new problem emerge as the tiny twinge she had ignored in her lower abdomen became a taut burning twist. "Just great.", she muttered. Before Mulder had a chance to ask her what was great or maybe redeem himself, she left with a louder muttered "I'm going home. Turn that in.", command as she grabbed her purse from under the desk and left on her way to her car, with a stop in the restrooms. 

* * *

Chapter 2  
Runaway

I've seen the world, been to many places Made lots of friends, many different races I've had such fun around the world it's true African skies with a Nairobi mood  
I fell asleep in Tuscany and dreamed  
The one thing missing was you 

Runaway with me my love,  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah  
Runaway with me my love,  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 

Margaret Scully's Residence  
6:02pm 

Dana took the thermometer away from her mom's ear. "99.6, mom. Your fever is down." 

"Honestly, Dana honey, I feel much better." Maggie pulled herself to a sitting position and rested against the high bank of pillows along the headboard. "Really, you shouldn't fuss anymore. You're starting to look a bit run down yourself." 

"I just want to make sure you're ok, mom.", Dana said with a tired sigh. Her mom had been a good patient, better than Dana herself could be, but the enough was enough. Maggie was now starting to worry that all this attention Dana was giving her was detracting from attention she should be giving herself. But Dana never complained, so her mom decided to do it for her. 

"Dana, lay down for a bit before you fall down." 

"But mom...", Scully started. Maggie pulled on her daughter's arm until she had to lay in the bed. 

"No buts, Dana. Just for a couple of minutes, then you can go back to whatever it was that you were doing. If you collapsed down stairs, I'm still too weak to pick you up and carry you to the hospital. 

Dana just laughed a bit and settled into the pillows beside her mother. Maggie pulled the blanket up and over her grown child and soon she could hear Dana's relaxed breathing. 

9:33pm 

Scully awoke to her mom running her fingers through her hair. "Dana, you have company." 

"What? Who?", Scully asked as she tried to simultaneously clear her throat, rub her pillow creased face and blink her vision into focus. 

"Fox is here." 

At first she thought her mom was joking until she looked out the open bedroom door. There was Mulder standing stiffly, looking like a child who was waiting to be called into the principal's office. 

"I'll leave you two alone.", Maggie said as she started to get off the bed. 

Dana grabbed her arm. "No mom. We'll go downstairs. You get some more rest." 

Maggie obliged and Scully walked out of the bedroom pulling the door closed behind her. "What are you doing here?", she whispered in the dim hallway. 

"I came by to see how your mom was doing. And to apologize for being such an ass this morning. I'm sorry." 

"Well, mom is doing much better. Her fever is down and I think the worst is over. And I accept your apology.", she conceded. "Thank you." She held her hand out and gestured for them to go downstairs. 

"Look, I should have realized you weren't feeling that well." He followed her as they silently made their way down the staircase. 

"I'm just a bit irritable, Mulder. And you weren't making it easy for me not to be." 

Mulder had an idea why she was, but he had learned from his smart assed mistake this morning and wasn't going to put his foot in his mouth this time. "I understand if you don't want to look into this new case with me. You deserve some time to unwind." 

Scully sighed and led Mulder to the couch in the den. She sat down and he followed suit. She felt like crap and was in desperate need of a massage and a really hot bath. But the case did sound interesting and the scientific developments that may come of it were tempting. She felt that she would regret what she was about to do since it would be in the best interest of her sanity to take the entire 2 weeks off rather than follow Mulder around to wherever the hell Janet Jackson was at this time. That's when Mulder pulled the incentive out of his hat. 

"I spoke to Skinner and we worked it out so that if you waste part of your vacation time with me, the official start of your paid vacation will start on the day of case resolution. Plus you get an extra week." 

Scully looked over at him fully awake and aware now. "Ok, when do we leave?" 

"Don't you want to know where we're going?" 

"Nope, don't care." Scully said matter-of-factly. "Let's go. I'll tell mom I'm leaving." 

Mulder was shocked, but not that shocked. "Ok.", was all he could say. 

* * *

Chapter 3  
Escapade

As I was walkin by  
Saw you standin there  
With a smile  
Lookin' shy  
You caught my eye  
Thought you'd want to hang  
For a while  
Well I'd like to be with you  
And you know it's Friday too  
I hope you can find the time  
This weekend to relax and unwind 

My mind's tired  
I've worked so hard all week  
Cashed my check  
I'm ready to go  
I promise you  
I'll show you such a good time 

Come on baby let's get away  
Let's save your troubles for another day Come go with me we've got it made  
Let me take you on an escapade (let's go) 

Es-ca-pade  
We'll have a good time  
Es-ca-pade  
Leave your worries behind  
Es-ca-pade  
You can be mine  
Es-ca-pade  
An escapade 

Palm Beach, Florida  
Following Day  
6:56 am 

Mulder and Scully pulled up outside the very posh hotel. They both walked in and up to the desk. 

"Good morning, how may I help you fine folks?", the tall man behind the counter asked them in a too-chipper-for-the-morning voice. 

"My name is Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully." Mulder gestured to Scully beside him. "We are looking for a Sita Cobb. She's expecting us." 

"Ahh.", the man answered as he turned to his computer and tapped a few keys. "I'll notify her that you are here." He turned to the phone and dialed a number. 

"So, Mulder. Who is this Sita Cobb?" 

"She's Janet Jackson's personal road assistant. She's the one who contacted the F.B.I. about the occurrences and she was told to contact me. All this is sort of undercover, that's why I didn't introduce us as agents." 

Just then the man behind them cleared his throat loudly for their attention. "Ms. Cobb will be down in a few moments. You can have a seat in the lobby." 

"Thank you.", Scully said for them both. 

Five minutes later a woman walked in to greet them. She was short, just slightly taller than Scully with an athletic build. The body of a dancer. Her remarkable glowing golden brown skin was almost overshadowed by the unbelievable bright rusted ocher bronze color of her eyes. Her incredibly thick naturally curly hair was barely tamed by a thin blue comb-like band encircling her head. The headband was the same color as the overall jeans she wore. There was a streak of flame red hair at the top of her head rippling and standing out against the darker curls. 

"Agents Mulder and Scully? I'm Sita Cobb, Ms. Jackson's personal assistant.", she introduced. They each took a turn shaking the hand she offered. Scully took note of how perfect her nails were. The shape and color looked as close to a French manicure as natural nails could be. Most women pay good money to have what God had given her. 

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Cobb.", Scully said and Mulder nodding his ascent. 

"Call me Sita. I'm glad you could come to help us with our particular problem." She looked around the half empty lobby. "If you could follow me up to my room we can discuss the matter." 

As the three walked to the bank of elevators just past the lobby and reception area, Mulder couldn't help but ask. "Hope you don't mind my asking, Sita." 

She looked up at Mulder as they walked. "Go ahead, I'm an open book." 

"But what does your job entail?" 

"Well, to be honest, it's not glamorous or anything. I pretty much handle all of JJ's, I mean Ms. Jackson's, personal affairs. Work her daily schedule, accompany her everywhere on outings and press conferences and such, and pretty much make sure her life on the road is a smooth one. I do her shopping. I even split time with her home personal assistant when we're not on tour. It's a very demanding job and I'm basically her shadow, but we try to make it fun." 

Scully interjected, "How do you land a job like this, practically living with a celebrity?" 

"My husband was in one of her videos a couple of years back and heard she needed an assistant. I'm a huge fan of hers, so I said I'd do it." 

"Your husband must miss you since you're on the road so much.", Scully guessed as they stepped into the elevator. 

"Sorry, I meant to say ex-husband." Sita jabbed at the button for the penthouse apartment floor. "According to him, our whole relationship was built on great sex." The reflective gold doors closed on the three. "Ground-shaking, outstanding, damn great sex, if I may be so egotistical?", she said bluntly. 

"By all means go ahead.", Mulder said. Scully looked over at him with the barest hint of a frown. 

Sita turned to him with a smirk, her eyes suddenly picking up and reflecting the gold surrounding them in the elevator. "Yeah, well. I secretly think he couldn't keep up with me being that he's close to twice my age.", she snorted and leaned casually back on the side wall looking sideways to Mulder and Scully, who stood in the middle of the large car. "It was wild fun while it lasted. I've got two very special beings out of it in my life who love me for me." 

"You have children?", Scully wondered. 

"Sheesh, I'd have hated myself if I produced children from a loveless marriage full of wall banging sex. No, but just the same. Nick and Marta are my pets. They get to come with me on tour. You'll get to meet them. Are either of you allergic to dogs or cats?" 

Mulder gestured over to Scully as she filled in, "I'm allergic to cats." 

"That's ok. Marta won't jump in your lap or anything. She's a good girl. She may just peer at you from my bedroom since she doesn't know you. Plus there's an air filter going in the apartments at all times so most of the hair has been sucked up." 

Scully nodded and a few seconds later the doors opened on a well-decorated hallway lined with paintings of various landscapes and a dark floral carpet. "We're down here." She led them out of the elevator to a large set of double doors. One of a set of three identical doors that led to other apartments. Sita pulled a card out of the bib pocket on her overalls and slid it into the electronic lock. As soon as they stepped inside, a large black shape rushed them. Mulder stepped back, but Sita grabbed his arm to stop him. Scully moved slowly toward the huge Black German Shepard with her hand held out for him to lick, which he did immediately. 

"Mr. Mulder, you can't show him any fear. If you do, then he will think that you think that you have no right to be here, which in turn he will interpret you to be a threat to me. This is Nick Hex, my own personal bodyguard.", Sita said with a laugh. "Just say hello to him and you'll be fine." 

"He's beautiful, Sita.", Scully admired. She grunted then laughed as the dog raised up on his hind legs and planted both paws on Scully's shoulders. 

"Thank you. And he knows it too. Nick and Marta were the last Christmas presents I ever got from my ex-husband. The following gift was divorce papers on my birthday." Sita gently led Mulder ahead of her. "Let's sit down." 

Mulder did as he was told. And everything was fine. The entire interview went smoothly. Sita was honest and forthright with her answers. Nick the dog was a huge permanent fixture at Sita's side with his big head in her lap getting his ears caressed and Marta the black cat spent the whole time peeking at the proceedings from down the hall in the bedroom door. Mulder kept hoping that Janet Jackson would burst through the doors but Sita had told them that she was in a sound check/rehearsal at the venue but that they would ride out to there when she had to go take JJ her things for tonight. The best part of the interview was at the end when Sita asked them had they already made reservations for a place to stay. 

Scully said, "We do. It's about an hour and a half away." 

"Sheesh!", Sita exclaimed. 

"It's the best we could do at such short notice. Everything is booked up." 

"It's because of the concert, I understand. How would you like to stay here?" 

Mulder's eyes lit up and he nodded his head just short of emphatically. Scully had the sense to answer for them. "Sure, that would make our job much easier. Thank you." 

"No problem. Not many people can afford this hotel." She tapped Nick on the withers and he got off of her so she could get to the phone. "Even if it was mostly full, I work for Janet Jackson.", she said smugly. 

Mulder pointed his finger at her. "Enough said." 

Two hours later, Scully was floating on a mental cloud that was rivaled by the soft bubbles in the tub she was lounging in. They had barely had time to check into the room and get over to the hotel for their meeting with Sita after the delayed flight in that morning that there hadn't even been time for a shower. 

It was actually lucky that they hadn't had time to unpack. Sita had called the hotel they were supposed to be staying at and had them send over the two agents belongings. That was one less thing they had to worry about. 

Scully knew why she was now in a relatively good mood all of a sudden. The case she had felt hesitant to take thinking it would eat into her vacation time seemed to be a prelude to a mini vacation of sorts. And a larger one than the one that she was previously going to have. Not only were they set up in a spacious and well-equipped suite a couple of floors below the penthouses but they were also going to see a free concert and have backstage access too. Sita had also told them to "go crazy with room service". 

Scully was feeling really good. And the fact that she and her sister had been Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson fans was totally not shabby either. Of course Scully suspected that Mulder's reason for almost doing cartwheels in the shared living room of the suite might be because he was a fan himself of Janet Jackson. But she was pretty sure they weren't both fans for exactly the same reasons. 

On the flight over Mulder kept alluding to the certain incendiary skit that was part of Janet Jackson's current concert performances. Scully wasn't really listening, she was trying to read the file and internalize some facts, but it had something to do with a chair. Her ears perked up at the words "simulated sex acts" only because they were mentioned in the file. It would seem that the combustible victims were participants in the "acts". All male. But not every man who was strapped into the chair later burst into flames. It would seem that it only happened to certain men in certain cities. None of the victims seemed to be connected so far other than the fact that they all left the chair under the stage, were escorted out to the back of the building by security and as they were being brought around to a side door to rejoin the crowd they went up in flames. 

The two agents decided to question the security escorts involved in the three cases individually. Scully would take half and Mulder would take the other. It was only 5 or 6 guards in each case, and only one or two having had physical contact with the victims. 

Sita told them that they would probably be leaving around 3pm or so. Scully was going to take the time and catch up on some self-pampering and sleep, and maybe by the time she woke up it would be time to go. That is if Mulder would let her get some peace and quiet. Him walking around with his headphones on singing snatches of "Anytime, Anyplace" was quickly making her dislike that song. It used to be one of Missy's favorites. Melissa also had a better voice than Mulder when she sang it. Dana still had the CD her sister had given her the last time Missy gave Dana one of her classic "just because" gifts. 

Anyway for now, Scully had Mulder locked out of her room. Free to sing all he wanted. As she rested her head back on the inflatable bath pillow she unconsciously started to hum the song. Then she started to sing it. It wasn't till she was halfway through the chorus... 

"Anytime, anyplace  
I don't care who's around" 

..., that she suddenly opened her eyes and cut herself off. "Damn it!", she muttered. She took a deep breath and dunked her head under the water. 

* * *

Chapter 4  
Control

This is a story about control  
My control  
Control of what I say  
Control of what I do  
And this time I'm gonna do it my way (my way) I hope you enjoy this as much as I do  
Are we ready?  
I am  
'Cause it's all about control (control) And I've got lots of it) 

Coral Sky Amphitheatre  
3:30pm 

They cruised through the gates and around to the back door in the limousine. The driver got out and opened the door for them. Scully got out first holding a long meat and cheese tray, Sita got out with a backpack on, and Mulder got out holding a duffel bag. The 100+ degree heat hit them like a slap in the face. 

"Could you please bring what's in the trunk? Thank you.", Sita said to the driver. 

"Yes, ma'am.", he answered and tipped his hat to her. He was paying more attention to the assistant's exposed skin than he should have and was startled when the German Shepard leapt from the still open door. He had to step back or get knocked down. 

"Some sight, huh?", Mulder said straight faced to the driver as they both watched the giant black dog march up to Sita and stand beside her legs. 

"Whoo!", the driver whispered back then quickly went to retrieve the rest of the trays. 

If Scully or Sita had heard and understood the exchange, they didn't acknowledge it. Nick, Scully, Mulder and the limo driver; in that order, all followed Sita into the back building/staging area. This time Sita had traded in the baggy overalls for a pair of extremely low-riding white hip-hugger jeans and a cloud blue linen halter-top that tied behind her neck and then at her mid back. Leaving her midriff exposed. 

Sita was giving them a mini tour, her conversation directed mostly to Scully who was the closest but she spoke loud enough for the two men to hear."The activity level is somewhat down right now, but it will pick up the closer we get to showtime." 

Scully watched as people dodged here and there doing various tasks at lightening speed. A low clatter of metal and the stomp of boots and people talking wasn't deafening by any means, but it was a constant sound that permeated the air. If Mulder or Scully asked a question of the assistant, they did have to sort of shout to be heard over the low din. If this were slow, Scully had a feeling that she'd hate to be back here when the action picked up. 

Sita pointed out this equipment and that person, waving often and calling people by name. Everyone spoken to paused their work and waved or yelled back at her, depending on what they were doing. 

None of the activity wavered the attention of the dog from his master's side. Even with the constant stops, Nick seemed glued to her hip. Even accepting the occasional petting from roadies that passed by he and Sita. 

Sita led them all down a dim hallway that turned into a brightly lit hallway the further they walked down. Mulder had the feeling of going underground, like a steady decline. And the hall did indeed seem to slope just slightly. 

"These are the dressing rooms," She pointed to a large set of double doors down the hallway. "and wardrobe is down there." "This is a large sitting room of sorts ." She placed her hand on the doorknob of a door that was painted with blue and green swirls. All the other doors were likewise creatively decorated. "You two could hold your interviews in there." She turned to Mulder and Scully who nodded and she went on taking a turn down another hallway. "This is were I'm going to be if you two need anything." She tapped the midnight blue and gold swirl patterned door and went on past it. "Let's take the trays in here. 

Scully and the driver followed her in the red and white door while Mulder, who didn't have a tray, stayed just outside. He did a casual look down the hall he was standing in, idly wondering where Janet could be. 

Scully set her tray on a table and walked back outside. The driver had set down an identical duffel to the one Mulder held right outside the door and carried in the cooler he'd brought. He set it down and started to leave the way Scully had when Sita reached out and grabbed his hand. She tilted her eyes and slowly looked him up and down. 

She whispered something in his ear and slipped something in his hand. Mulder caught this exchange. While the look and body language spoke of something else, Mulder didn't want to jump to conclusions in thinking it was anything more than a tip. He looked to Scully to see if she'd seen it, but she had been busy putting her hair up to get it off her neck and ears. She had also taken Sita's advice to dress down. Not as drastic as either Sita or Mulder with his T-shirt and loose jeans combo, but her thin beige slacks and short-sleeved white V-neck was enough. 

Sita and the limo driver came out of the "lunch room". "Oh, before I forget. Here's your all access passes." She slung the backpack off and dug into a side pocket, producing two laminated passes on thin metal-like chains. She handed one to Scully and then to Mulder. "You can go to the room back there and I'll send in the first two witnesses like you asked. I'm going to walk this gentleman out.", she placed her hand on the driver's arm, "I'll be right back. You know where to find me if you need me. Feel free to grab some lunch for yourself. There's drinks in the fridge on the far wall and I think some fruit." 

Sita was already guiding the driver away with her as she spoke. "Back in a sec!", she called and disappeared around the corner. 

Mulder and Scully did grab a little something then went to the room. After that, off they went to the large sitting room. They were glad to find that the room was actually a small maze of five sectioned off areas, sort of like how you would find in a library to give individuals personal space. They could see that the thick partitions weren't permament and could be moved on tracks in the floor if the entire room needed to be opened up. 

As Mulder bit into one of the chocolate chip cookies he'd pilfered, Scully suddenly asked, "What do you think the deal is with Sita?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"You mean to tell me you didn't see her hitting on that driver?" 

"Of course I did. I didn't think you saw it." 

"She was all over him, Mulder. I'd have to be blind." 

"I don't know. I guess she's just really secure with herself." 

"Or not." 

"Are you saying you suspect her?" 

"I wouldn't rule her out completely." 

Just then, Sita knocked and then entered the door, followed by two very tall muscular men. They reminded Mulder of club bouncers. 

"This is Greg Peterson.", she touched the man with fair skin, jet black curly hair and green eyes on the chest. "And this is Bayton O'ba." She likewise touched the broad chest of the other man with deep dark skin and a military "short back and sides" for his woolen locks. The two men nodded to the agents. 

"I've got some running around to do so I'll leave ya'll to it." Sita was gone just as fast as she came. 

Scully was directly across from Mr. O'ba, so she invited him to come to one of the partitioned spaces. Mulder took Mr. Peterson. The whole proceedings went the same with each of the 7 men. Straight answers in detail and in a no nonsense manner. Through questioning, the agents found out that all of the men had held jobs on various police forces at one time. It would be fairly easy to gain access to their records, but they assumed they would be clean. None, with the exception of one man, had any previous experience with flammable chemicals. That one man was a retired fire fighter, a Mr. Gottlieb. He was the one who was quick to grab the fire extinguisher. Scully had surmised that without his quick action, the flames were probably hot enough to almost completely incinerate the bodies. 

Through the interview, they also gained a clearer picture of what happened as the victims were led through the area under the stage, after the performance where a man was chosen from the audience to be a forcibly passive participant as Janet Jackson gyrated over and on them. Once they and Ms. Jackson were brought below the stage through the trap door on the chair, one of the stagehands took the singer off to her dressing room. She was met by Sita and the two women went to get Ms. Jackson ready for the next set. 

Meanwhile the man strapped to the chair was released and helped down. They took great care in making sure the men didn't accidentally bump their heads on the load bearing bars and beams underneath the stage. What might sound strange but was totally necessary in ensuring the safety of the participant was that one of the guards would get a tight grip on the participant's hand and lead him as an adult would lead a child across the street. And considering that Janet Jackson had just finished gyrating over their prone bodies, the men weren't in the right mind to pay attention to their surroundings. 

"So they were just like children in that right.", Scully had surmised out loud to Mulder who heartily agreed. 

"I know my brain would be mush.", Mulder said. 

* * *

Chapter 5  
Come On Get Up

Come on get up, baby  
Before you make me change my mind  
Come on get up, baby  
So we can dance all through the night 

I feel so free  
Could it be  
The way you're loving with me  
Between the sheets  
My mind was telling me  
Now I see  
The single life's for me 

Coral Sky Amphitheatre  
Showtime 

Indeed the atmosphere seemed alive with electricity as soon as the sun started to set. The forecast for tonight was totally devoid of a chance of rain and a cool wind off the ocean kept the insects at bay. The wind also gave a welcome chill to the air bringing the temperature down from the sticky high 101 to a comfortable low of 78 degrees. The crowd had started to arrive around 5:13. 

At 5:30, a virtually unknown band by the name of Squared Pie performed the pre-show opener. Their eclectic mix of music was as diverse as the band members' ethnic backgrounds and the audience seemed to be pretty into it. Scully was of a like mind with the audience, but Mulder was evenhanded on his opinion. But he thought the lead singer, a woman from both a Cantonese and Israeli background who sang in both languages, was really cute. They did put on a passionate and exciting performance. And when he found out that all the band members had been to MIT where the band was formed, he figured he didn't necessarily have to be a fan of their music. Brains were just as cool. Just in case, he planned to get their autographs for the Gunmen. In addition to one for himself. 

"The lead singer of Squared Pie is filling in for one of the dancers tonight too." Sita informed. "I'm with you guys and couldn't do it, so it's lucky she's had training." 

Sita sat with them the entire time telling them how everything would go before it happened. The three of them sat just off stage in a sort of crows' nest set all the way back against the stage's back wall in the rafters beside the backdrop. From this vantage point, they could not only see and be out of the way of the performers on stage and the stagehands as they moved about, but quite a bit of the crowd as well. With the sort of reverse box seating, they were well hidden in the darkness able to spy on all that went on. 

Nick was Sita's ever present body guard, laying beside her as all three people dangled their legs off the platform and rested their arms on the bottom railing. They had chosen to forgo the plush seating available up there for a better view straight down 

"It almost seems like this was built with voyeuristic tendencies in mind.", Mulder said. 

"Hmm, nothing bad about secretly wanting to watch.", Sita purred. She gave Mulder a mirthful look and he snorted at her joke. "Back when the amphitheatre was built, it was rumored that the original owner had a phobia of crowds. But he still wanted to be able to see the shows so he built this box for himself. You can barely see it, but there's some sort of glass surrounding this area. It cuts down on the sound just enough for us to hear each other but not enough to decrease the enjoyment of the show. The moment I heard about it, I wondered if the glass could support any weight. It'd be like jumping off into space." 

Scully chose not to say anything about either weird remarks. "When do you have to go back down?" 

"Right before 7." It was 6:45. "We do the pre-performance ritual and everyone involved has to be there, JJ's orders. Man, I swear I don't think I could do what she does." She put her hands together prayer style and whispered "semi-night off, thanks to you two.", then went on with what she was saying before. "You should see the mad dash backstage to get changed between songs. Clothes flying everywhere and the only thing you want to do is strip naked and wash off all that sticky sweat. I have to help her change and I get tired just from that." 

Mulder was about to ask if he could come with her, but decided that Scully wouldn't appreciate being left alone. They had to keep watch up top just until the skit, then they were going down to see all that went on under the stage. For now they had to watch the crowd. 

Sita looked at her watch. "I have just enough time to take Nick out back before the good luck meet. Got the walkie-talkie?" Mulder picked it up and wiggled it from side to side to show her. "Perfect. Channel 10 for just me. The general channel is 1. Security is 5. I'm gone." 

When she left with Nick trailing after, Scully gave Mulder a sidelong look. 

"What?" 

"Nothing. This is just strange is all. I wonder how she can be so calm when someone may die tonight." 

"Well, we're here to keep that from happening. Besides, it wouldn't do any good to go running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It's her job to be calm and collected under stressful situations. As are we. Can't help people if you're a raving nutcase." 

"And yet it hasn't stopped you before, Mulder." 

"Scully, wanna test the glass?" 

"My mom knows where you live." 

Mulder mock shuddered and Scully laughed at him. "Ok, so she's cool as a cucumber. Are you thinking she's also telekinetic? That she's pulling a Drew Barrymore in "Firestarter"?" 

"I'm not saying that she isn't." 

Mulder gasped and pretended to be shocked. Scully continued unabated. "But she'd still need a motive. She didn't burn all the men, just some. IF she did it at all. We must have missed some connection." 

"Well, let's just worry about the man tonight. We'll look further for the connection after the show." 

They sat through all the songs, often finding themselves rocking to the beat. Even Scully was starting to cut loose a bit, her feet never stopped moving. Mulder looked over and caught her mouthing the lyrics to "Again". She knew all the words and he could have sworn he saw her eyes mist over. 

Janet Jackson's remake to one of Scully's mom's favorite songs, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" really had them jamming. Mulder turned to Scully and leaned over obnoxiously in her face rocking his head to the beat. She laughed and they both sang the lines... 

"Ha-ha, hoo-hoo  
Thought you'd get that money too  
Greedy motherfuckers try to  
Have their cake and eat it too" 

Then erupted in fits of laughter. Mulder saw Missy Elliot in her appearance for the rap in the remake and new he'd definitely have to get her autograph for Byers. 

At intermission, most of the audience members filed out for the 20 minute break. Mulder and Scully decided it would be a good time to take a breather themselves and then head to the under stage area. They contacted Sita and she met them at the door to the little elevator from the crow's nest. They went to grab refreshments in the underground then headed back out to the backstage area. By the time they got back near the offstage trap door, which looked like a regular door lower than the level of the stage rather than a large board that opened up to a drop down, the crowd was already refilling the audience. Just then, Sita's 2-way beeped. 

"I'm here.",she said quickly. 

"You're needed in the west wing." They were standing just off the east wing of the stage. 

"There in a sec.", she answered back. She turned to Mulder and Scully. "Wait right here, please. I'll be right back." She ran and crossed over behind the backdrop curtain on the stage. Mulder and Scully watched her as she ran over to two of the security guards they had previously questioned. Right behind them stood none other than Janet Jackson, dressed in a black skintight leather outfit complete with laced up corset over a zipper that stopped just at her cleavage. With long sleeves and long pants that had silver rings giving it a look that made it seem that it needed to be laced up all the way, the thing looked painted on and she wore very high spike heeled boots that looked totally uncomfortable. Of course she moved effortlessly in them. There was a quick conversation between all four, none of which the two agents could hear. But they did notice that there was a bit of gesturing, nodding in the case of the two men. Sita pointed over to Mulder and Scully, apparently telling who they were. Janet looked over too and waved to them. They both waved back, Mulder's a bit more exaggerated than Scully's. Or so Scully thought. Sita spoke to Janet and the two women seemed to have a couple of laughs, none of which phased the two stone-faced guards. For a second Nick and the two women, followed by the guards, disappeared from view in the direction of the front of the stage, but returned shortly. Janet and Sita clasped hands for a quick second, Janet scratched the top of Nick's head, then Sita ran back across. 

They could hear a slow almost jazzy tune around them and the whole exchange took less than 30 seconds. 

"Just helped pick the guy. Come on, let's go down." Before either agent could ask her what she meant, Sita turned and went through the door. They followed Sita and Nick down to the understage area. Mulder had to duck often to miss the rafters. When they got to a more open section with way more head room, they stopped in front of a small bank of monitors. Three of them showed the crowd and three showed the stage. 

* * *

Chapter 6  
Throb

I can feel your body  
(ooh baby)  
Pressed against my body  
(ooh baby)  
When you start to poundin  
(ooh baby)  
Love to feel you throbbin  
(ooh baby) 

A low guitar accompanied Janet as she walked out onto the stage and stopped almost at center, the red lights bouncing off the glossy finish of her outfit and the water that had been sprayed into her hair and on her forehead. The beat of the song started and she started a slow undulating of her hips. She ran her hands down the sides of her torso and started her classic breathy singing... 

"Baby would you mind touching me  
Ever so slowly  
You're making me quiver  
And" 

Then she trailed off and held up her hand as the music stopped and a sensual back beat continued to play. She spoke to the crowd. "Wait, hold on you guys." The crowd started screaming, but would quiet down as soon as she began to address them again. "It's getting kinda lonely up here. I think I need some company." Some sort of table or slate with red velvet padding and two metal crescent moon shapes at its head was raised up from the stage floor behind her. The crowd screamed even more. Loud whistles erupted and echoed about. Fog wafted out of the floor and around the slate as it turned slowly. 

Janet walked back and forth at the edge of the stage, making a great production out of searching the audience. After about 30 long seconds of teasing the crowd, she stopped and looked at one man. 

"Would you mind?", she asked in a sexy voice as she reached out to him. 

One of the cameras zoomed in on the guy's face and he looked totally shocked and way too excited, nodding his head with gusto. Shocked, but he and the whole audience seemed to already know what was going to happen as they voiced their congratulations of him through loud cheers. 

The table, on a hydraulic mechanism, tilted till it was vertical. 

The two security guards that Mulder and Scully had seen back stage just then helped the man over the crowd barrier and escorted him up to the stage. They took him to the slate and the man stepped up onto a little ledge at the bottom of the table. He was talking to himself and basically freaking out as Janet watched the two guards strap the man to the slate. Three straps went across his body and his arms were held out like a cross and strapped securely down. 

Sita whispered to Mulder and Scully, "This is for both he and JJ's safety. And his enjoyment, of course." The agents both looked over at her, but she kept her eyes on the screens with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. 

Mulder and Scully shared a look, then turned back to the screens to watch. They held their questions as to what was about to occur. 

The music swelled again as Janet slowly walked toward him twirling her finger delaying the moment she would lay her hand on him. She stepped up on the platform with him, her foot sliding into a hidden lip on the sides of the slate. 

She started the song where she left off singing "Baby, would you mind undressing me", as she ran her hand up the front of the man's legs and settled on his crotch. "Making me feel sexy" She lingered there for a bit, then stepped around to fully face him, both feet now on their own ledges above his own. "While in the moment". 

She stepped down back to the stage, dragging her finger and undulating her hips again as she sang. 

"Cause I'm gonna  
Bathe you, play with you, rub you, caress you Tell you how much I've missed you" 

She grabbed a handful of the man's shirt and dipped low in front of him with her back to his legs. The man threw his head back and started screaming to the heavens in a soundless call. His breath was a steady cadence of gasps making his chest heave. 

Scully had to wonder if they'd have to rush the man to the hospital in cardiac arrest as Janet backed her head up and rubbed it against his crotch. That is if he didn't spontaneously combust this time. 

Sita tapped a few buttons on a keyboard next to the monitors and a picture of that moment started to print out from a printer beside the bank of monitors. Mulder and Scully both saw her take the picture off the printer and lay it on a table beside her. They took note that she drug her finger over it in small circles, like she was scratching the shiny finish to check if it were dry. 

Janet stepped back, this time to the other side of the man. She stood running her eyes and hands over his chest and stomach. 

"I just wanna  
Tempt you, tease you, lick you, please you Love you, hold you, make love to you" 

She stepped back up on the vertical table, climbing higher using the footholds. She pulled one foot up level with his waist, the other followed and she looked down on him from her new height. The man's eyes got really wide and he was shaking his head once again as if he couldn't believe it. 

Something made Mulder look over to Scully and he could have sworn he saw her lips moving along with Janet's on the stage. "Ah ha, so she knows the words to this song too", he said to himself then turned back to the monitors before Scully felt him staring. 

"And I'm gonna   
Kiss you, suck you, taste you, ride you Feel you deep inside me, ooh" 

She dipped back down in front of him, her knees bent wide on either side of him and they were face to face again. 

"Cause I wanna  
Kiss you, suck you, taste you, ride you Feel you, make you come too", she said as she dropped one arm, swung her body slightly away from him to look at the crowd over her shoulder. She gave them a smoldering look, then turned quickly back to him and repeated the act of putting her crotch in the candidate-for-heart-failure's face. 

She then stepped slowly back down to the stage again. 

"Baby would you mind kissing me  
All over my body", she asked him to his face and she got down. Then stepped away in a dance slide a couple feet away from him. The slate turned so that the guy faced her. 

"You missed a spot...", she appealed to him then pointed to a place on her body, "...there" The man nodded emphatically. 

She crossed in front of him with a sassy step to the other side of him and the slate, and it turned to follow her movements. "And baby, would you mind tasting me" 

Boy, did he ever. They could see him mouth the words "please, baby please" over and over again. Sita had a hard time holding in the giggles and Scully could just shake her head. Mulder's gaze was riveted to the screen. 

"It's making me all juicy", she sang as she ran one hand through her hair and the other down her abdomen. 

"Feeling your lips on mine" Her descending hand landed and settled on her own crotch in front of him. 

The man's jaw dropped and his eyes rolled back in his head. 

She sang to the crowd a bit. 

"Cause I'm gonna  
Bathe you, play with you, rub you, caress you Tell how much I've missed you" 

She proceeded back toward the man strapped to the slate. 

"I just wanna  
Touch you, tease you, lick you, please you Love you, hold you, make love to you" 

This time she stepped back up with her feet just above his feet again. She lowered herself down in front of his legs eye level with his crotch and the man screamed again 

"And I'm gonna   
Kiss you, suck you, taste you, ride you Feel you deep inside me, ooh" 

"I just wanna  
Kiss you, suck you, taste you, ride you Feel you, make you come too" 

Janet looked into the man's eyes caressing his face. She leaned toward him with her eyes on the audience as if she were going to kiss him, but instead she breathed openmouthed into his own. 

Just then the slate began to tip, lowering the man onto his back with her resting her arms around his neck. It settled in a horizontal position. The man was breathing so hard that the three watching the monitors could see Janet being moved on his chest. She moaned into the headset microphone and pulled her knees up almost to his armpits, her wet brown hair falling down in a curtain around both their faces. Suddenly she sat up, grinding her lower body on to his stomach in circular motions that meandered ever so slightly southward. The man made full use of the headrest on the slate at that point. 

She lowered her upper body back down to his again as the slate began to be brought back down below the stage on the hydraulic lift. The trap door in the stage closed up over them and Mulder and Scully followed Sita's gaze as they looked over to the real thing. One man ran over and helped Janet off the man and the same two guards that strapped him in came to help get him down also. 

Janet was rushed past them, slipping a quick low-5 to Sita on the way. When the guy came by, Sita handed him the picture she had printed earlier. Mulder caught the slight look something akin to stunned recognition as the man laid eyes on Sita. 

Mulder looked to Sita, Scully following his eyes. There was no such recognition from the woman standing beside. Just a blank face as she handed him the picture and said "Hope you had a good time." 

* * *

Chapter 7  
Son Of A Gun

Oh, who you give it to  
Who you gonna steal it from  
Who's your next victim  
Oh, who you gonna lie to  
Who you gonna cheat on   
Who you gonna leave alone  
Oh, what ya gonna tell her  
After she discovers  
You don't really love her  
Oh, gonna be a showdown  
Knock down - drag out  
Gunslinger shoot 'em up 

The man was led away and Mulder and Scully started to follow. Just then Sita looked down to her side and noticed that Nick wasn't there. She looked around, not quite panicking yet. He sometimes would go back to her room and grab a bite to eat and some water from his bowls. But he was always right back by her side before she knew it. She walked around and whistled low. 

Just then her radio squealed. "Sita, outside now!" 

"Shit!", was her reply as she sprinted out the door. Rounding the corner, she could see the smoke and the people huddled over something on the ground. She walked up to them, her feet dragging a bit. She already knew what they were looking at. 

Scully was the first to look up at her seeing the crestfallen look, which shocked the red-headed agent. She was sure that Sita knew the now badly burned man, but now wasn't so sure that she had anything to do with his near incineration. Ordinary or supernatural. Maybe they would have some luck this time. 

"He's still alive.", Scully announced with her hand on the victim's carotid. The man armed with the fire extinguisher sighed with relief. 

Sita's reaction was a bit stronger. She covered her face with her hands and started to cry. Mulder sensed that her legs were about to come out from under her and rushed to catch her around the waist. She fell forward over his arm and started to sob. 

"We need EMTs out back off the east wing, pronto!", one of the security guards yelled into his radio. 

Mulder looked back to Scully as he held Sita up. 

"Go ahead.", she answered automatically. Mulder half led, half carried Sita back in the door. Scully watched them leave for a moment, then just happened to look back at some motion off to her right. A large black shape came trotting up. She watched as Nick passed by them all following Mulder and Sita into the building, from the opposite direction. What had he been doing over there, she wondered, and why did he look proud of himself? Scully shook her head thinking she must be going crazy or getting tired if the dog looked smug. 

Scully sighed and looked the man over while she directed someone to put something under his feet. Soon the med techs came flying up in their ambulance and took the man to the hospital. Scully and one of the guards went with him. 

12:02am 

Scully walked in to the hotel entrance rubbing her tired eyes. She'd gotten a ride from the hospital with Mr. Gottlieb from security. She was just passing the lobby when she heard Mulder call out to her. 

"Scully." 

She stopped and waited for him to run over to her. 

"He's hanging in there, but I don't know for how long." 

"Good, I guess. Maybe not for him, in a way." 

"Yeah, he's looking at skin grafts and major healing time. If he survives. What are you doing down here?" 

"Waiting for you. And thinking." 

"About what? Where's Sita? I've got some questions for her." Scully started toward the elevator. 

"In her room.", Mulder told her as he followed her. "With the limo driver.", he added. 

"Oh.", was all Scully had to say. She pressed the button to call the car. 

"Yeah." 

They got in when the car came. ""Mulder, did you see the dog?" 

"Sita's dog?" 

"No, my dog. Of course Sita's dog." 

"Umm, Scully. Do you need some sleep?" 

"Yes.", she answered without irritation. "That show tired me out, and the post show bonfire was the icing on the cake." 

"Man, I wish I could laugh at that joke, Scully, cause it's a great one." 

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, about the dog. There was something weird, and well, I don't know. Did it look to you like the flames came from an external force? Like he got hit by something that made him burst into flames rather than chemicals in his body causing him to." She yawned and yawned and yawned. 

"We'll talk to Sita in the morning and see what we can do before tomorrow's concert." 

"Ugg, we have to go through this tomorrow?!", Scully almost whined. 

Mulder sympathized. "We'll figure this out." 

Once in the suite, Mulder went to his room and Scully to hers. Scully headed straight for the bathroom to get ready for bed, as did Mulder in his room. The only difference was that while Scully laid down in the bed, Mulder put on some old jeans and a T-shirt and threw a jacket on. 

He was just going to have to interrupt whatever was going on in the hotel room upstairs. Sita had to be the center of this through no fault of her own. Whatever power she had she was not in control of. He had to help her before someone else got hurt. 

Once upstairs, he was about to knock on the door when the limo driver suddenly rushed out the room trying to brush sandy blonde hair off his sweaty forehead. They almost bumped into each other. 

"Sorry, man." Then he mumbled something about this being his night for sorrys. "Didn't see you there. Her dog growled at me.", the driver apologized and started backing down the hall trying to slip into his jacket and rearrange his twisted shirt at the same time. 

"No problem. Oh, and check your fly, man." 

The driver looked down, then looked back up embarrassed. "Thanks.", he said sheepishly. He zipped up and rushed to the elevator. 

The door to Sita's room was open just a crack. Mulder rapped his knuckles on the wood, then opened it. Sita stopped in her tracks. 

"I was just going to lock that, but come on in." She finished tying the belt on her white terry cloth robe and turned her back to him, her thick curls fell heavy and dripping down her back. 

"Sorry if I disturbed you, but I just had to see how you were doing." 

Sita stopped on her way to her room. She turned back to Mulder with a frustrated look. "Three minutes isn't long enough for me.", she hissed, her eyes glancing to the door. "So I'm still wired, if you get my drift, and I can't get visions of dead people out of my head!", she held her arms up wide then let them flop down to her sides. "Ugg!!", she groaned and threw herself on the couch. 

"Sorry." 

"For what? Apologizing in the name of all the minute men in the world? Or maybe it's for all the people that just go up in smoke?" 

"Definitely neither.", Mulder said. 

Sita snickered. "That's good to know." 

"Listen, I think you need help. I want to try to help you." 

Sita didn't answer him, instead she stared off into space. "I'll be back." 

She got up and went into her room. Mulder looked over and saw Nick sitting up watching him. The dog's steady stare was starting to unnerve him, but he just stayed calm trying not to look the dog in the eye. 

Sita came back out after a minute dressed in a loose peasant shirt and a long flowing linen skirt. She looked sort of like a gypsy with brown sandals completing the look. Her long curls pulled back into a low ponytail with a scarf that matched the brown and beige pattern in the skirt. 

"Would you like to go for a drive with me?" 

Mulder didn't see anything wrong with it, so they left. 

* * *

Chapter 8  
Trust A Try

Wanna second chance with this love  
This romance  
Wanna make it last  
Forget your past  
She hurt you bad  
Let's start anew  
Yes that means me and you  
Gonna make it through  
But you must give trust a try  
Gotta be strong with this love  
Hold on  
Gotta trust in me  
And we will see true victory  
We'll love with ease  
Baby please trust in me  
It'll be heavenly  
But you must give trust a try 

You got burned  
You got bruised  
You got  
So you got a kick outta that  
Unhealthy shit  
You said to she  
You'd please her needs  
Whatever it'd be  
Still she'd cheat  
On her back again for the money 

Now leave from it  
You grow from it  
Get over it  
I won't take the blame  
So don't  
Cause I ain't having it  
Steady given me  
The third degree  
That's so mean  
Don't push me out the door  
I wouldn't do that to you 

Don't smother me (with misery)  
Accusing me (of polygamy)  
If not the trust (then we have what)  
Gotta be strong (oh keep holding on) 

Sita had no qualms about racing the cobalt blue Viper; her ex-husband's first birthday gift to her she had informed Mulder when he admired it, on the back roads along the nearby beach. They had to have topped speeds of about 110 or more in some places. Mulder had the urge to keep glancing in the sideview mirror for any signs of blue and red lights. He wasn't sure if he should be glad that he didn't see any though. He guessed this was another way Sita burned off the excess energy he knew coursed through her. Be it supernatural or sexual in nature or both, he wasn't sure. He was sure it had a connection to the case. 

"I used to dabble in Wicca." She said suddenly, taking a curve at over three times the speed limit. 

"Really?", said a white knuckled Mulder. 

"Yep." She sounded so calm, it was like she wasn't racing around in the dark in a high performance car. "It was something that seemed to lure me. It helped me concentrate, to feel like I was in control of myself and my surroundings. That I was more than what people told me I was." Her voice broke a bit. 

Mulder wondered if she was getting ready to cry. "Umm, maybe we should pull over." 

She looked over at him. "Ok." She slowed the car and made a tight turn onto a dead end road. At the end and through the trees lining the shoulders, there lay the beach. The full moon cast silver light across the tiny ripples and waves of the sea's surface. 

Sita turned the car off and got out, followed by Mulder. She brushed a few stray damp curls away from her face with both hands. 

"I don't know what's happening to me." 

"You knew you had something to do with it. Why did you continue to pick the men out of the crowd?" 

"They had it coming.", she said in a child-like voice, her hands dropping to her side as she stared out over the ocean. The silver light surrounded her, making it seem like she had an almost blue aura. To Mulder, she looked even more beautiful as it cascaded across her bare shoulders, her skin and hair making the light dance down her body. 

She seemed tired and leaned against the hood of the car. Mulder could see vestiges of the innocent child she'd been just a little over a decade ago. 

"I know you don't mean that." Mulder walked around and leaned beside her, his sneakers leaving deep grooves in the sand as he slid his long legs out. "So you did know them. How?" 

"From long ago, when I was younger." Mulder had the urge to remind her that she wasn't even in her mid-twenties yet, but didn't want to seem petulant. So he kept his mouth shut and she went on. "I obviously didn't know them well. They were just..." She looked down and started picking at her skirt. 

Mulder tilted his head to catch her eye. "What?" 

"I made the biggest mistake a woman like me could make. I fell in love. I fell in love with them, but it was a one-way street. Now I'm strictly 'no attachments'. I can't allow my heart to be crushed like that again. 

"So you sought revenge? This is some plan." 

"No!", she looked totally offended and scared for a moment. "No.", she said in a much calmer voice. "It really was a coincidence that they were even at the concerts, I swear. I have something like a second sight and I could foresee them coming to the concerts. I mean the first time it happened, I just thought it was a fluke. I didn't want them to die! And I promise you, JJ had nothing to do with it. She didn't know anything about what was happening, only a few people knew and I told them I'd handle it.", she said in a rush. She shook her head setting loose more damp curls that clung to her cheeks. "I even tried to protect them with a spell I remembered." 

Mulder remembered her dragging her finger over the picture. "I saw you. On the picture, you ran your hands over it. A protection spell. But it didn't work. After the first one, the other men still died." 

"I just wanted them to see me as I am now. To let them know that I was better than them now. That I became something. I know what I want and I go after it. I've become the Player and they've become the Played." 

"I'm not judging you. And I think I understand you. But this isn't the way and you've got to stop." 

"I don't even know how I'm doing it. Now I feel like nothing because I can't even control myself. In more ways than one." She chuckled mirthlessly. "They used to burn people like me at the stake." 

"No." Mulder reached out and brushed the hair from her cheeks. He could see the tears rolling down her downcast face. "You are something. You called me here to help you and I'm going to do just that." 

She turned her face to his, the silver moonlight and the gold of her irises swirled around in a mesmerizing dance encapsulated within her almond eyes. Mulder had the feeling of staring into the face of a lost kitten. 

At first, silver and gold met gray-green and hazelnut from a distance. Then the distance shortened. 

No one knew who leaned in first, but their lips met. Slow and gently. 

Sita pulled back, her eyes wide watching for some reaction from Mulder. Like maybe he would push away or ask her to take them back to the hotel. Instead he slipped his long fingers behind her head and pulled her back toward him. This kiss was full of passion. 

Mulder stood up and moved his body in front of hers, pushing her up farther on the car's hood. Her hands slid around to his lower back, pulling their bodies together. Both her sandals slid off her feet when she raised her knees as he nestled his hips between her thighs and pushed her skirt up. His busy left hand continued to meet skin as he kneaded the muscles in her thigh and back to her buttocks. 

"I'm not prepared...", he gasped as he trailed kisses down her neck. He shrugged his jacket off and it fell to the sand, freeing up the movement of his arms. 

"Got it covered. In the car. Never leave home without... Ahhh.", she breathed contentedly as he sucked and bit her collarbone, his hands doing wonderful work at both her back and her front. 

Her hands found their way down to unbutton his fly and lower his zipper. 

(couldn't help but put this in there:  
Sittin over here  
Starin in your face  
With lust in my eyes  
Sure don't give a damn and ya  
Don't know that I've been dreamin of ya in My fantasies  
Never once you looked at me  
Don't even realize that I'm wantin you  
To fulfill my needs  
Think what you want  
Let your mind free  
Run free to a place no one dares to 

How many nights I've laid in bed excited over you I've closed my eyes and thought of us a hundred different ways I've gotten there so many times I wonder how bout you Day and night  
Night and day  
All I've got to say is 

Chorus:  
If I was your girl  
Oh the things I'd do to you  
I'd make you call out my name  
I'd ask who it belongs to  
If I was your woman  
The things I'd do to you  
But I'm not  
So I can't  
Then I won't  
But  
If I was your girlNope,   
couldn't help that) 

* * *

Chapter 9  
Black Cat

All the lonely nights I spend alone  
Never around to love me  
You're always gone  
Cause you're hangin out  
Breakin' the rules  
Oh the man has come  
Looking for you  
You're a rebel now  
Don't give a damn  
Always carrying on  
With the gang  
I'm trying to tell you boy  
It's a mistake  
You won't realize  
Til it's too late 

Don't understand  
Why you insist  
On ways of living such a dangerous life Time after time you stay away  
And I just know that you're telling me lies 

Black cat  
Nine lives  
Short days  
Long nights  
Livin on the edge  
Not afraid to die  
Heart beat  
Real strong  
But not  
For long  
Better watch your step  
Or you're gonna die 

2:56am 

About an hour after going to sleep, Scully awoke again. Now she was sitting up in bed writing down notes seeing if anything about the case would pop out at her. She was extremely tired, but her mind wouldn't shut off. She grabbed the tape that had a copy of each of the 3 other deaths, rewinding and reviewing it over and over for the next hour and a half. She sat staring as the first man went up in smoke with nothing else out of the ordinary. Then she watched the second. 

A black shape flitted across the screen, unseen by any of the security guards. Scully got up and paused the tape. She walked over to the tv set and stared at the screen. She rewound the tape a bit and started it over again. As the dark shape came on again she advanced it frame by frame. 

And there it was, the missing clue. She could see legs, the barest outline of a tail and slightly blurred ears. But the biggest evidence was the glowing golden eyes she had seen before upstairs. Nick the dog. 

Scully quickly watched the first death again, then the third. And immediately found what she was looking for. The German Shepard had been present for all of the deaths, whereas Sita had not. She may have known the men, but she wasn't there. The dog was the factor. He had caused these men to combust. The question was how. 

Scully threw on a robe and ran across the suite to Mulder's bedroom door. She knocked. There was no answer. 

"Mulder, I have something to show you." She knocked again a little louder. She tried the knob and found it wasn't locked. She hadn't expected it to be. But she had expected him to be behind it. Asleep maybe or up watching tv. 

He wasn't there and the bathroom door was wide open. "Where is he?", she said to the room, thinking maybe he'd gone for a run. She looked around the room and saw that he had left his cell phone, again. She was wondering if she could somehow glue it to him when she had a bad thought. What if the dog was jealous? Could that be his motive, that Sita had spent time with the 4 men and the dog hadn't liked having his territory usurped? The last person who might have been intimate with Sita had been the limo driver. 

Scully ran to put some clothes on before heading upstairs. 

The same man who was there when they arrived was at reception. "Hello, ma'am. Can I help you?" 

"Yeah, I've got two questions. Would you happen to know how I can get in touch with the limo driver that came to pick me, my friend, and Ms. Cobb up yesterday afternoon? He also dropped Ms. Cobb and my partner off back here?" 

"Umm, yeah. Blonde hair, blue eyes, looks like a steroid user?" Scully nodded. "That's Steve. Steve Gaiter. He's often the one the limo company we deal with sends. He left in a hurry a little while after you and your friend went up." 

"I need to get in touch with him." 

"Is there a problem?" 

"No, not if I can help it." 

"Ok, I won't ask anymore questions. I'll get you his home number. But I do think I can guess your next question." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah. I saw the man you arrived with and Ms. Cobb leave together about 12:40 or so. They took her car." 

Scully didn't know what to say. She checked her watch again and saw that it was 3:27. "Umm, thank you." She turned away. Now she knew why she didn't get any answer at Sita's room. Then she thought of something and turned back to the receptionist. "Sita has a dog and cat staying with her. Do you think you can open her door for me so I can check on them? Make sure they're ok.", she asked nicely turning on the charm. 

"Sure, let me grab the key card." He quickly got the correct key and they both went back upstairs. He opened the door and allowed her to precede him inside. 

"Nick?", she called. "Come here, boy." Scully hoped that Sita hadn't slept with the receptionist too or she might have another inferno on her hands. Luckily, Nick didn't seem to care about the man. He ran up to Scully and licked her hands. She scratched his ears, head, and under his chin. 

She couldn't believe that such a gentle creature was responsible for burning four men alive. He laid down on his side and rolled onto his back for a tummy rub. Scully stooped down and began scratching his chest. She looked around for the cat. "There's a cat in here too. See if you can see her. She's shy." 

The receptionist walked around searching the kitchen and looking in closets. He then checked the bedroom. 

Scully kept scratching until her fingers raked across a scab. She looked down trying to see it. On the side of the dog's neck was a series of four long wounds that were healing. Beside them were a couple that looked a bit fresher, like they had been made earlier in the day. She kept looking for more and found two other sets of wounds like the first two. These had to have been made many days ago. 

Four sets of wounds that look suspiciously like cat scratches. Suddenly Scully got another bad thought and wondered when the hell was this going to end. 

"Hey!", she called out, but it was too late. She heard the cat yeowl, then the man screamed. The cat came running out of the bedroom at a streak. Scully watched as the cat ran up under the couch, her tail frizzed as if she were scared. 

* * *

Chapter 10  
God's Stepchild

Didn't want to burden   
Mother had enough stress   
So often I'd talk to you   
Through my four legged friends   
Always there to listen   
Though I felt so all alone   
And in my times of trouble   
I know   
You saw my smile of pain 

Maybe I'm the lucky one   
Maybe the forgotten one   
Maybe, but I know   
I'm not God's stepchild 

"Sir, are you alright?" Scully got up and walked to the bedroom door. The man had his back to her and he was crouched on the floor in the middle of the room. She started toward him when he abruptly stood straight up and whirled around the face her. A set of four long scratches and a short one bled on the side of the man's face, and his eyes glowed menacingly gold in the dim room. 

"Oh, shi-!", Scully yelled as she ducked a fireball that she almost didn't see until it was too late. The wave of heat passed over her head and crashed into the wall across the room. She turned to run, but the receptionist jumped at her and tripped her with his legs. She smacked the floor hard and rolled out of the way just as another ball of translucent fire slammed into the floor where she'd been. She caught herself and pulled her gun at the same time, aiming it at him. 

Just then, a black form shot at the receptionist and knocked him over. The tall man tumbled over the bed and fell to the other side. Scully got up and ran for the door. 

"Come on, Nick!", she yelled to the dog and slammed the bedroom door closed just after Nick galloped through it. Scully and Nick ran to the front door and she threw it open. They heard another explosion as the bedroom door and half the wall blew away. 

Scully just happened to see a small dark shape, Marta, join them in their dash as all three ran out the door. They were running down the hall when Mulder stepped out of the elevator, directly in Scully's way. She rammed straight into him and they both collapsed in a heap on the floor. Sita let out a short but loud squeal of surprise when she lost her grip on Mulder's hand and he seemed to disappear right before her eyes. "Mulder!" Sita peeked around the corner out of the elevator, her beautiful gold-brown eyes wide with something akin to fear. 

"Scully, what the fu...!", Mulder blurted out with his face in the floor. 

"We gotta get the hell outta here!", Scully shouted as she scrambled to get back up. 

Sita stepped out of the elevator. "Marta Merrickesha!", she said as the black cat bounded back and leapt over the two agents still pretty much sprawled on the floor, right into her owner's arms. "Scully, what's going on?!", Sita asked but Scully and Nick were already halfway toward the stairwell exit. Mulder shook his head and stood up. 

In the second it took for Mulder to register Sita had picked up on the fact that he and Scully called each other by their last names, the possessed receptionist stepped out of Sita's suite door. Mulder and Sita looked up to see his bright gold eyes shining in the dim hallway. Marta hissed at the receptionist. 

"God damnit, I said run!!", they heard Scully's muffled voice echo out of the quickly closing stairwell door along with the quick thump of both her footsteps and Nick's pawsteps down the concrete steps. 

Mulder grabbed Sita's arm and they ran as fast as they could after Scully and Nick, with Marta simultaneously hissing over Sita's shoulder at the receptionist and holding on to her long curls for dear life. 

Mulder looked down the staircase to see Scully's bright red hair disappear on the floor they were staying on two flights down. He and Sita kept running and went in the same door. 

Scully was leaning against the wall catching her breath and Nick was doing the same. "What the hell is going on?!" 

"The cat...", she breathed then swallowed. "The cat had something in her and she was passing it to the dog by scratching him. Then he'd go and kill the men." She gasped again. "The dog was caught on tape fleeing the scene in all three cases and I saw him this last time. His eyes were glowing gold." Scully started to run toward the elevator. "We gotta get out of the building and lure this thing away so nobody gets hurt." 

Sita and Mulder looked at each other. 

"But I thought...", Mulder started. 

"We thought it was me?", Sita finished. 

They ran to catch up to Scully who was now in the elevator. The three humans and two animals rested against the walls of the elevator car as it descended. 

"It might still be you, or rather about you. I was all set to fully blame the dog, then I noticed the scratches. So I was going to blame the cat, but then the cat scratched the receptionist and he's freaking shooting fireballs! I swear! And it's not the cat either. Look at her!" Scully flicked her fingers toward the cat in Sita's arms. "Something's hopping bodies." She let her head thump back on the wall. "By the way, where the hell have you two been?", she spoke to the ceiling. 

Mulder and Sita shared a look. "What if the guy got on the elevator and went on down? What if he's waiting for us in the lobby?" 

Scully knew the question was to change the subject, but it was a good question. Scully held her gun ready. "Did you leave your gun in the room too, Mulder?" 

Mulder gave her an irritated look and reached around to the clip on the back of his pants. 

Sita picked her leg up trying to be inconspicuous at rubbing the bruise Mulder's gun had left on her calf. 

The doors opened and they were ready. But nothing happened. They stepped out of the car and scanned the lobby area and all the downstairs. They didn't see anything. 

Marta and Nick looked around too and neither hissed nor growled. Just then the doors to the elevator closed and the elevator started to go up. They all turned around and watched it climb. 

Mulder didn't want to wait to see if the entity only went after men who'd wronged Sita, if it just went after any man who'd slept with her, or if it picked at random from the many candidates. He nudged Scully and Sita toward the lobby doors and out of the building. 

"How are we going to stop it? Him?", Scully asked. "It's going to keep coming after us because it knows we are going to try to stop it." 

"We've got our best chance right here." Mulder tipped his head in Sita's direction. 

"What?!", Sita and Scully yelled. 

"How is she going to stop it?" 

"I said I dabbled, Mulder. I'm not powerful or anything. Not to mention I haven't actually done it in years." 

"I'm sure it's like riding a bike or having... Whatever. I know you can do it. You've got to do something. Think, there's a reason this thing is protecting you. Why? Think hard.", he urged. 

"I don't know!", Sita was starting to panic. Through the glass doors they could see that the elevator had stopped at the penthouse level and was now heading back down. 

"Come on, we've got to put some thinking distance between us and him/it. Scully can you take the dog with you in the rental car and follow us?" 

Scully whistled to Nick and they took off toward the car. Mulder, Sita and Marta got in the Viper. Mulder went to rest his back in the seat and grimaced. 

"Jeez!" 

Sita looked over at him trying not to make immediate contact with the seat just yet, both shame and pride mixing in her expression. "Sorry, Mulder. I guess you got me carried away." 

"You need your claws clipped." Mulder eased his battered back into the seat. 

"I said I was sorry!" Sita passed Marta to Mulder so she could drive. "Hold my kitty, Mulder." 

"Again?!" 

"Shut up!" She jerked the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life, then settled to rumbling purr. 

"That's just a Chevy Lumina back there, go easy on the gas." 

Sita, even in the face of danger, could still break out the wit. "I'll go as easy on this car's gas pedal as you did on me.", she said as she revved the engine and slammed into first gear. 

"Oh shi...", Mulder started as he buckled himself in. But being that it was a four-point restraint harness and he had a huge black cat in his lap, he didn't get to finish when she peeled out of the parking lot. 

Two miles down the road, they'd lost Scully already. "Where's your phone?", Mulder asked Sita. 

"Glove compartment with the rest of the essentials." 

"Uh-huh." Mulder knew exactly what she was talking about. He opened the glove compartment thinking she should rename it something more apropos since there wasn't a hand glove in sight. Nope, wait. Glove compartment still fit, it just took some imagination as to what KIND of gloves were in there. Mulder snorted at his mental joke. 

"What?", Sita asked as she looked over at him. 

"Nothing" He waded through the "essentials" till he found the one he needed at that moment. 

He quickly dialed Scully's cell phone. 

"Scully.", came her irritated tone. 

"It's me." 

"Where the hell did you two go? You two better not be off somewhere parking again?!" 

So Scully had figured it out. Why did he keep underestimating her. " No. We're parked, yes, but we're not... Where are you?" 

"I just passed a sign that said Lake Park." There's that word again, Mulder thought. 

Nick barked in the background. 

"Just keep driving straight till you see a sign that says 'this way to Tequesta', turn left onto that road and go straight. You'll see us on the road about 5 miles down. We'll have the emergency lights flashing." 

"Ok." Scully hung up the phone. "We'll find them.", she said to the German Shepard with his head hanging out of the passenger window. "Then maybe we can all get some sleep.", she sighed. 

Soon she came upon the blue Viper. Mulder and Sita were leaning against it waiting for her as she pulled up. 

Scully shut off the rental and opened the door. Nick jumped out after her and ran over to Sita. She crouched down and the dog flew into her arms. She hugged him tightly around his wide neck. "Thank you for saving them.", Sita said looking up at Scully. 

"We saved each other." 

"Good boy, Nick!", Sita gushed as she held the dogs face and rubbed her nose with his. Nick stuck his tongue out and drug it up her neck and under her chin. 

"Yeah, good job buddy.", Mulder said as he reached over and patted the dogs head, then he too smiled at Scully. 

Sita stood up and faced them both. "So, you really think I can do something about this?" 

"Yes, I do. When did you start to notice something strange happening with Marta." 

"Well, she wouldn't sleep on the bed with me anymore. She wouldn't sleep at all, not that I know of. My mother had this plant that she'd been growing since I was born. Some kind of vine. I think it was called a Marble Queen. Marta would sit and stare at this plant for hours. This all sounds so crazy." 

"No, it isn't. Go ahead.", Mulder said. 

"Well, she died in a hit-and-run accident when I was 10 and I went to live with my grandmother in Louisiana. It was strange living with her. She mixed catholic practices and voodoo practices." 

"Like in Haiti.", Scully supplied. 

"Exactly. My greatgrandmother was from Haiti. I guess I just have been surrounded by that ancient spiritual world so long that I searched for similar customs to participate in since then. I used to talk to that plant, like my grandmother did right up until she died. I think she believed that..." Sita gasped. 

"What?", Scully asked. 

"Marta ate the plant one day! I just thought her weird behavior was because of some toxin in the leaves. I took her to the vet and they said everything was fine. Damnit, my mom took over my cat!" 

"So your mother was not only deeply religious, but overprotective too?" 

"Yes." Sita groaned and tossed her head back. "Aww Gawd!" 

"Well you've got to tell her that she can't keep doing this. This time, her spirit is inhabiting a human. In animals, she could only express the most basic and primitively complex emotions, like they do. Now she will have a human's voice and thought processes." Mulder grasped Sita's shoulders. "You've got to tell her that you are not the weak little girl she left, you can take care of yourself. You are going to make mistakes along the way, but she doesn't need to protect you from them. You can learn from them yourself. And most of all, she's angry with herself because she feels like it's her fault she left you. You've got to tell her she's not to blame for her own death. She's got to know you are strong and capable, and you have to understand it too." 

Sita nodded, tears dislodging from her eyes. "Ok, let's do this." 

* * *

Chapter 11  
The Knowledge

Insight to what's going on  
Information keeps us strong  
What you don't know can hurt you bad  
Take it from me you'll be walkin around sad Cryin for a better day  
Until you educate for a better way  
So if you wanna be in control  
Ya gotta get yourself in the know 

Get the knowledge  
That you really want  
The knowledge  
Do you really want  
It's the knowledge  
What you really want  
The knowledge  
That you really want 

4:05am 

They drove back toward the hotel. Three miles from the hotel, they spotted the receptionist walking bewildered in the middle of the road. 

They stopped the cars and got out. Sita approached first with Mulder and Scully not to far behind. They left Nick and Marta in the respective vehicles. 

"Mom?", Sita asked tentatively. 

The receptionist looked around until his gold eyes fell on Sita. "Baby! Why did you run from me?", the man's normally tenor voice sounded higher and maternal. 

"Mom, I didn't know it was you." Sita walked closer to the man. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her. 

"Everything has been so cloudy lately, full of strong emotions and I couldn't focus, but it's clear now.", he said as he tightened his grip. 

Scully and Mulder raised their guns at the ready. The receptionist looked over Sita's shoulder at them, his golden eyes flashing. "Did that man do something to my baby?" 

"No, ma!", Sita was quick to placate the spirit of her dead mother. "He's a good man." 

"Then why do I always feel you so sad, my child?" 

"I made some mistakes mom, but that's how life is. I have to make my own mistakes. I'm human." 

"You can't let men use you, darling." 

Sita looked down, not looking in the man's eyes. "I'm not, not anymore." She raised her head. "I've become a stronger woman, my own woman. I want what I want and I go after it." Sita smirked. "Sex is a good thing momma, don't you know that by now. It's great and God made it too." 

The receptionist looked off to the forest. "Ok, you've got me there." 

Sita smiled. "Oh, momma.", she mock scolded. "Momma, I'm going to be ok. You've got a daughter who stands up for herself and doesn't take any crap. You taught me that. You and grandma were wonderful parents. It's not your fault you left me." 

"I'm so sorry for that, baby.", the man looked down at his feet. 

"Look at me.", she pulled the man's head up. "I'm fine. I've just got to deal with this vibrant spirit of mine you gave me." They both snickered. "But I'm going to be fine without you. You can leave now. I love you." Sita hugged the receptionist. 

"I love you, too. Be well, baby." The receptionist became limp in her arms and she had to lower him to the asphalt. Scully and Mulder came up. Scully got down next to them and checked the man's pulse. 

"He's alive." 

The man began to stir and he opened his eyes. "What's going on?", he asked in his own bewildered voice. The three of them shared the task of helping him up. 

"We'll explain everything to you, sir.", Scully informed the man. 

* * *

Chapter 12  
The Pleasure Principle

You might think I'm crazy but I'm serious It's better you know now  
What I thought was happiness was only part time bliss You can take a bow  
It was all just one big night out on the town Riding in your limousine  
We turned right and I said wrong which brings us to a stop As the light is changing 

Oh my meters running so I got to go now It's the pleasure principle oh oh ohh  
It's the principle of pleasure, ohh  
It's the pleasure principle oh oh 

Scully woke up at 9:57am. After all the action last night was taken care of, Scully crashed. Mulder and Sita disappeared again, and Scully could have cared less. Despite all the weirdness and danger, Scully had to admit she'd had a good time. As soon as she opened her eyes that Sunday morning, she could feel a sense of the start of a good day. 

She stretched and went to roll over, rolling right into a solid body. She opened her eyes and looked beside her. Nick's big dark eyes looked back at her. 

"Well hello there!", she said stroking his head. Then her foot nudged something and she looked down to see Marta the cat at the bottom of the bed. "And hello to you too." 

That's when she realized that she was in bed with a cat. She was allergic to cats but she wasn't feeling itchy or sneezy. And she was pretty sure that was black cat hair all over the top of her pillow. She sat up and pulled the cat into her lap. 

"I'm not allergic to you. You certainly are a special kitty." 

Marta purred loudly as she smoothed the cat's clean fur. "You're so well pampered, you probably don't even feel you have to lick yourself." Scully sighed. "I wish all cats were like you." 

Marta purred and Nick whimpered. "I wish all dogs were like you, too!", she quickly said to the dog, hugging his huge neck. 

"Well, I guess I'm pet-sitting while your mommy and my partner are off 'expending some energy'. Who's up for steak and eggs?" She pointed to Nick who licked his chops. "And salmon and shrimp?" She pointed to Marta who rubbed her head under Scully's chin, purring even louder. "And I'm up for a veggie omelet, big salad with grilled chicken slices topped with olives and sharp and Monterey jack cheeses, a strawberry tort, and a huge glass of orange juice.", she listed as she reached for the phone by her bed. 

After 20 minutes she heard the suite doorbell ring. "Food's here." She tossed the mouse toy at Marta again and got out of the bed. Nick followed her. On her way to the door she saw a folder sitting on the living room table. Curious, she walked over to it and saw a note with her name on it. She picked it up and recognized Mulder's handwriting. It read: 

Good morning, Scully. Hope you and the babies had a good sleep. Sita and I will be back later on with plenty of time to get ready for the show tonight, if you want to go again. This time not only did I remember my cell phone, I have already completed the summary and paperwork for this case and it's in the folder on the table. You can read it over and ok it at your leisure. I also called your mother to check on her and she said she's doing well. So you can sit back, relax and start your vacation. Have a good rest of the morning. 

Love, Mulder P.S.- Thank you for being my best friend and loving me just the way I am. Even when I make it hard for you to. 

Scully smiled. "Oh, Mulder." Then she thought of something. "And I know just the way to thank you." She then went to the door to get breakfast. 

Coral Sky Amphitheatre  
Second showtime 

Mulder and Scully were standing front row, right up next to the action. This show was about 18% less full than last night's, just enough room for everyone not to feel like they needed to crowd each other. But the atmosphere was just as electric as the night before. Once again with a cool breeze off the ocean and the night sky full of stars. 

Scully planned to take full advantage and have a great time tonight, the weight of the case now off everyone's shoulders. 

As soon as the first song started to play, Mulder and Scully were ready to move. Mulder pointed on stage to one of the dancers just then. Scully looked at the dancer he was pointing too. 

It was none other than Sita. Mulder whistled loudly and Scully cheered for their new friend. Scully had at first underestimated her, thinking she was just talking out of the side of her mouth like she did most of the time when Sita first told them she filled in as a backup dancer. But Scully was impressed. The young woman definitely had loads of talent. 

"Sita's wonderful. I didn't know she could move like that, Mulder.", she yelled to him. 

"I did.", he answered straight faced, gaining a Scully eye roll. 

The entire show went great and was definitely better the second time around. When the time came to perform the infamous skit, Mulder looked around wondering who the lucky guy would be. That's when he caught a glimpse of familiar curly hair stuffed up under the black cap of one of the guards who was passing in front of the crowd as Janet searched from the stage. He looked to Scully to see she was winking to the guard. 

All of a sudden, Janet stopped in front of where he and Scully were standing. A guy beside him was begging extremely loudly for Janet to choose him. The guard with the familiar dark curls stopped in front of Mulder. He looked at her under her brim and saw Sita with a broad grin on her face. He turned to Scully and saw the same grin. He did a double take from Sita to Janet on the stage and new he'd been set up. "I know that face, Mulder.", Scully said in his ear. Sita kept her stoic face as Scully started giggling so hard she had to hold onto the crowd barrier to keep from falling over. 

From the stage Mulder heard the words that he would never forget for the rest of his whole life. 

"Would you mind?" 

**THE END**   
  


#### If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Sita


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